Austin Wells’ clutch hit sends Yankees to winner-take-all Game 3 against Red Sox

By the skin of their teeth – and every last inch of Jazz Chisholm Jr.’s outstretched arms — the Yankees have lived to see another day.

In a game that often teetered on the edge of being a slow-motion train wreck, with the threat of their postseason ending in two short nights, the Yankees found an answer before they were sent packing for the offseason.

Austin Wells delivered the big hit the Yankees desperately needed, roping a line drive that just stayed fair down the right field line with two outs in the eighth inning.

Chisholm was off from first base on the full-count pitch and never stopped running, diving into home plate just ahead of the tag to send the crowd into a frenzy that shook the Stadium and lifted the Yankees to a 4-3 win in Game 2 of their AL wild-card series on Wednesday night.

“It would be a lot easier to win [the series] 2-0, but we get to play baseball tomorrow and that was our goal coming into today, to guarantee another day tomorrow,” Wells said. “It took everybody. The defense was unbelievable tonight. Great at-bats, great pitching on the mound. Just a really scrappy win. I think it literally took everyone.”

David Bednar secured the final three outs in the top of the ninth — following scoreless innings from a fired-up Fernando Cruz and Devin Williams — to set up a winner-take-all Game 3 on Thursday night, with the Yankees sending Cam Schlittler to the mound against fellow rookie Connelly Early in hopes of surviving into the ALDS.

Since the playoffs expanded in 2022, the loser of Game 1 in the wild-card round has lost each of the 12 series. But the Yankees gave themselves a chance to buck that trend on Thursday, thanks in large part to two players who began Game 1 on the bench.

Long after Ben Rice had given the Yankees a shot in the arm with a two-run homer off Brayan Bello in the first, it was tied 3-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

Facing Garrett Whitlock with two outs, Chisholm battled for a full-count walk to bring up Wells, who worked another full count before shooting the go-ahead single down the line.

In a span of roughly 24 hours, Chisholm went from being outwardly frustrated about not being in the Game 1 Yankees lineup against Garrett Crochet to being one of their heroes.

The second baseman said he de-stressed Tuesday night by playing “MLB: The Show” and mercy-ruling his opponent, and by the time he arrived at the stadium on Wednesday, he had cleared his mind and was focused on winning.

“What do you expect? The guy’s a game-changer,” said Aaron Judge, who drove in a run in the fifth inning that temporarily put the Yankees ahead 3-2. “But it just shows you the maturity of not taking what happened the day before and bringing it into today’s game. He showed up ready to play today and ended up having the biggest plays for us.”

Aaron Boone had said before the game that he did not need Chisholm “to put a happy face on it,” but he did “need him to go play his tail off, which I know he’s going to do.” And it wasn’t just on offense, as Chisholm saved the Yankees in the seventh inning with his defense, even on a play when he did not record an out.

Carlos Rodón, who gave up three runs through six innings, threw eight straight balls to begin the seventh and end his night.

The spot due up in the order was the exact same one that Luke Weaver entered to face in the decisive seventh inning of Game 1. Except this time, Boone called on Cruz, who got an immediate gift when Ceddanne Rafaela popped up a bunt attempt before Nick Sogard flied out.

Masataka Yoshida, who delivered the go-ahead single in Game 1, pinch hit again and nearly did the exact same thing as he roped a grounder up the middle. But Chisholm made a diving stop on the ball, and while his throw to first was late, just stopping it from going into the outfield prevented at least one run from scoring. Chisholm, whose bouncing throw slipped slightly past Rice, was fortunate that Nate Eaton stopped at third instead of flying around and trying to score on a play that would have been close.

Source : https://nypost.com/2025/10/01/sports/austin-wells-hit-sends-yankees-to-game-3-against-red-sox/